


Stuck in the Middle with You

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 18:25:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2438495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Aaron Hotchner, oh my God have you been looking at my chest!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stuck in the Middle with You

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for [](http://annadelko.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://annadelko.livejournal.com/)**annadelko** ’s **‘stuck together’** prompt. The title is from the totally awesome Stealers Wheel song.

“I'm still trying to figure out how we’re going to explain this.”

“We don’t have to explain anything, Hotch. Just give me a meat cleaver.”

“I am not giving you a meat cleaver.”

“It’s painless…I promise.”

“I repeat, I am not giving you a meat cleaver.”

“Suit yourself.” Emily smiled, lifting up the wrong hand to sip her beer. Hotch’s hand flew up too and some of the beer hit her in the face. She laughed as she sputtered, putting the bottle back on the able. Hotch pushed it toward her other hand.

“Yeah, this could be troublesome.” He said.

“I hope you don’t scratch your bum with that hand.” Emily was still laughing.

“How can you think this is funny?”

“How can you not? The best part is that no one will believe we are handcuffed together for the completely innocuous reason we’re handcuffed together.”

“I didn’t even think about that.” Hotch groaned, laying his forehead on the kitchen table.

“You didn’t even think about that?”

“Stop repeating what I say.” Now he was mumbling.

“Well it was the first thing that popped into my head.” Emily went on as if he hadn't spoken. “OK, actually ‘ooh the possibilities’ was the very first thing that popped into my head. But that was the second.”

“The story is Jack was practicing his magic…”

“That’s not the story, Hotch, that’s the truth. Jack was practicing his magic but he lost the key to the handcuffs. He’s four years old, the key is small, and Daddy and Agent Emily get to be stuck together for all eternity.”

“These are really a strong pair of cuffs for a kid’s magic set.” Hotch replied. “I blame myself. I bought it for him.”

“Don’t be silly…no one is to blame. I had a lot of fun tonight. I'm still having fun. Of course, if you want to be rid of me…”

“Do not bring up the meat cleaver again.”

“I'm just saying.”

“Uh huh.” He nodded.

They were quiet for a while, Emily sipping her beer. Jack was sound asleep and the house made the noises most houses did when humans weren't filling them with their own noise. Hotch looked at her from the corner of his eye.

“There's something else we’re not discussing.”

“What?” she asked. She really needed a clove; the hour was turning late.

“Sleeping arrangements.”

“I like the left side of the bed.”

“Emily…”

“What? We've shared a bed before when we really, really had to. I know we can do it. What are you afraid of?”

“No one said anything about afraid. It’s just…this is awkward.”

“Doesn’t Penelope say that everything happens for a reason.” Emily said.

“What reason would we have to be handcuffed together?”

“I think this goes back to my ‘ooh the possibilities’.”

Hotch wasn’t sure what to do, think, or say. He could admit, to himself and only in that second, that he had spent time thinking about sharing a warm bed with Emily Prentiss. Maybe handcuffs had been involved in a few of those thoughts. He wasn’t sure if he should be thanking Jack for this or telling him that his short career as a magician was over.

“I really need a clove. Do you mind awfully?”

“No, I’ll get…” Hotch stood and then looked down at their wrists. “Nevermind.”

“We’ll go together; it'll be fun.”

Emily stood too and she started skipping into the living room. Hotch had no choice but to follow. She grabbed her messenger bag from the side of the couch. Inside she grabbed her cigarette case and lighter. Back in the kitchen, Hotch put the teakettle on the stove before they sat back at the table.

“Tell me how you got hooked on cloves.” He said.

“It’s the same old story.” She replied.

“Ah. What's his name?”

“Isabel Polana.”

“I'm sorry, what?”

“Her name was Isabel Polana. I was 15 years old and spent a month that summer in Lisbon with my father and stepmother. She was 17 and we spent a lot of nights out on the town partying. She smoked them and got me into them. She also taught me how to French kiss.”

“She…you two…” Hotch could barely string together the sentence. The teakettle whistled, saving him from embarrassing himself further.

They both had to get up of course. Hotch grabbed two mugs from the cabinet while Emily picked out the Lady Grey tea. When their tea was done, they sat again at the table. She lit her clove, a smile of pleasure crossing her lips with that first inhale.

“You were saying something, Hotch.”

“No.” he shook his head.

“I thought you were.”

“I wasn’t.”

Emily just laughed. She reached out and tousled his hair. Hotch had a shocked and amused look on his face, which only made Emily laugh more.

“This is my chance you know.” She said.

“It’s your chance for what?” Hotch asked.

“To do all the things I couldn’t do when I didn’t have being handcuffed to you as an excuse. The hair was first…damn, I've always wanted to do that.”

“And what's wrong with my hair?”

“Nothing, except its perfect.” Emily replied.

“It’s not perfect. I have that cowlick.” His tone was a little bitter.

“I like the cowlick.”

“No you don’t.”

“Don’t tell me what I don’t like.” Emily playfully pinched him. “I really like it. When you're all suited up, in full Hotch mode with Hotch shoes and Hotch hair, it reminds me that someone playful is under there. Its that little untamed part of you.”

“Did you really spend the whole summer French kissing a gorgeous Portuguese girl?” Hotch asked before his rational mind could stop him.

“How do you know she was gorgeous?” Emily countered.

“Let’s just say she is in my head.”

“Let’s just say everything else happened in your head too.”

“I want to say fair enough, but really its not.”

She didn’t answer; she just finished her clove and tea. It was getting late and Emily was tired. It had been a long day and then she spent the evening with Jack and Daddy. The four-year old was always a ball of energy. Being with him was fun but it was pretty normal to crash afterward. Emily was definitely crashing. She bit back a yawn.

“Are you tired?” Hotch asked.

“I'm OK.”

“We’ll have to go in there eventually.”

“Do you want to establish the rules now?” She asked.

“That’s a good idea.”

“I was joking, Hotch.”

“Oh.” He sighed. “Can I just get it out of the way and say this is awkward? It might not be awkward for you, Emily, and that’s fine. But this is awkward for me.”

“Why? I mean, c'mon, I know you never expected the two of us to be handcuffed together but…we work together in the field all the time. We’ve even shared hotel rooms once or twice. Budget cuts make strange bedfellows.”

“But this isn’t the Comfort Inn in Kansas City.” Hotch replied. “This is my bedroom.”

“Your personal space?” Emily asked.

“Yeah.” he nodded.

“I get that. I’ll do my best to respect that, and the fact that you feel awkward.”

“Thank you. I don’t want to keep you up all night and…”

“I have to go to the bathroom.” Emily said, cutting him off.

“So do I.”

“Well, alright…welcome to awkward.”

***

Hotch lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, wide awake. He didn’t know how long he’d been that way but was almost sure he hadn't been to sleep. It was weird, having to do his nightly rituals with Emily there. And not just with her there…she was attached to him. It was difficult for them both to stand there but not intrude on the other.

She had to undress to a point in his presence. He gave her a tee shirt and shorts to sleep in. Hotch just took off his jeans and slept in his tee shirt and boxers. They had to use the bathroom; he gave her his extra toothbrush to brush her teeth. He had to remove his contact lenses. Then they had to get in bed together.

It surprised him how fast Emily fell asleep. He gave her the left side of the bed, not sure if she requested it seriously or as a joke. She couldn’t sleep with her back to him so she just curled up beside him, said goodnight, and closed her eyes. Emily Prentiss was curled up beside him and Hotch was awake. He was listening to all the sounds around him.

The house was quiet. He could hear cars outside, Emily’s soft breathing, the funny sound the pipes in the master bathroom made sometimes. The arm with the wrist attached to hers was prickly from falling asleep. He couldn’t move it if they both wanted to be comfortable. Hotch wasn’t comfortable.

“Are you asleep?”

“No.” he replied, not at all startled by the sound of a voice in the nearly quiet room. The voice was instantly recognizable. “I thought you were.”

“I almost have been a few times but no.” Emily sat up some and looked at him. “Why can't you sleep?”

“My arm’s asleep.”

“C'mon, let’s shake it out. I don’t think you should lie that way for too long. You could’ve moved your arm, Hotch, it wouldn’t have disturbed me. Can you not sleep on the right side of the bed?”

“It’s a bed, Emily, I can sleep in it.” He managed a small smile but doubted she saw that in the dark.

“So what's keeping you up?” She asked.

He didn’t answer for a while so she sat up completely in his bed. Crossing her legs Indian style, Emily reached over and turned on the lamp. Hotch squinted in the harsh light after so many hours of darkness. That’s when he noticed the alarm clock said 2:17. They’d been in bed for less than three hours. Why had it felt like an eternity?

“I'm fine, I just…it’s been a while since I shared my bed with anyone.”

“The last time was Rossi.”

“What?” he looked at her with disbelief in his hazel eyes.

“Columbia, South Carolina, Hotch remember? As I said, budget cuts make for strange bedfellows.”

“He snores.” Hotch replied, his heart rate calming some. “Its not too bad but it’s not that good either.”

“You're a tosser-turner.” Emily countered.

“Well you're an insomniac; and a cover hog.”

“Hey, I do not hog the covers! Shall we profile our other teammates based on sleep patterns or lack thereof?” she asked.

“Morgan rarely sleeps in a shirt.” Hotch went on. Better to talk about this than the thoughts on the edge of his mind.

“If I had a chest like his I wouldn’t either.”

“Yours…” _Shut up, Aaron_ , his mind screamed. _Shut up, shut up, shut up_. He knew Emily was a jokester. She loved double entendres and slips of the lip. She didn’t usually play that game with her Unit Chief but he’d seen her play it to the hilt with almost everyone else.

“Aaron Hotchner, oh my God have you been looking at my chest!”

“Stop it.” he closed his eyes.

“Did you like what you saw?”

“Emily…I mean it. Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?” She sounded so innocent.

He wasn’t sure if she really meant it or if it was a game. Sean used to play that game when he was little. He would make Hotch think he hurt him while they were playing and when Hotch went over to check he would pounce and declare himself the winner. It seemed that no matter what Hotch always fell for it. He could never think someone he cared about was hurt and not at least check it out.

At least he couldn’t then. Now, he was so walled up inside himself he knew that wasn’t still the case. He just sighed and didn’t say anything else. Hotch didn’t time how long it took but Emily got the message. She should be quite well versed in being pushed away. It was gentler now but a push just the same.

“We should probably just try to sleep.” She reached for the lamp.

“I just thought if the time ever came, if it was ever right and we were really in bed together, it would be for something much more romantic than Jack’s magic handcuffs.”

He said it so fast that he wasn’t quite sure he said it. For just a moment his mind flashed back to the first time he drove Haley home from school. He finally got the nerve to tell her he liked her. Hotch said it so fast that Haley had no idea what he was talking about. It took a lot of laughter, even more nerves, and nearly 20 minutes in a parked car in the pouring rain before she finally understood. But that boy didn’t exist anymore. Maybe he only had in that tiny moment in time.

“Damn,” she took a moment to caress his face before flicking out the light. “You can be really be sweet sometimes. Try to get some sleep Aaron, OK?”

In the dark, Emily lay back down again. She didn’t feel comfortable trying to face him and sleep. After a few minutes, she sighed and turned the light on again.

“What did you just say?” she asked.

“You told me I was sweet and didn’t even hear what I said?”

“I think I heard you wrong.”

“You didn’t.” Hotch shook his head.

“Is that code for you're not saying it again?”

“What's the point, Emily? Even if we both want it more than anything in the world…”

“Is that how you feel?” She asked. “Do you want it more than anything in the world?”

“I don't know what I want. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t want to live without you but I don’t want…”

“You don’t want to break the rules.” Emily finished his sentence.

“Someone told me I was reckless once. They told me more than once. I wanted to laugh. I don’t remember ever being reckless. I'm cautious to a fault.”

“Sometimes.” She smiled. “I still adore you. Sometimes I want to grab you by your stupid tie and make you see sense. But I don’t want to lose you either. As sad as it sounds, I’d rather you open your life to me as a friend and I get to be here than to have you close the door completely.”

“You are my friend, Emily.” Hotch replied. “You're practically my best friend. When I'm with Jack its different, my son always make me smile. But with you I can smile, laugh, and be free even if I can't always let my guard down. You make me happy. You take being handcuffed to me in stride.”

“You gave me pizza and beer Hotch; handcuffs are the least I can do in return.”

Hotch smirked. He pulled Emily to him and just hugged her. There was nothing sexual in it but it felt so damn good. She held on too, exhaling and feeling him shiver against her.

There was so much she wanted to say but would never forgive herself if her words ruined the moment. So Emily stayed quiet and just relaxed in his arms. She didn’t know if morning light would bring back distant Hotch. He wasn’t cold anymore, hadn't been for the most part since the incident with Cyrus in Colorado. But there was still a line he didn’t cross in the sand.

He stayed on one side and her on the other. Even in his arms Emily thought that could still be true. When he let go for just a moment to turn out the light she almost thought of doing the same but his arm was back around her before she could move. Her leg slid up his and Hotch held her tighter.

“We should get some rest. It’ll be morning before you know it and Jack will want breakfast.” He whispered.

“I don’t want to wake up with someone else.”

“Like who…James Brolin.”

“I don’t think it’d be too bad if it was James Brolin.” Emily managed a laugh. “I'm talking about guarded Hotch. I don’t want to fall asleep in your arms and wake up with an ocean between us.”

“You're gonna have to help me with that. You’re gonna have to help a lot. I know I've asked so much of you already but…”

“You haven’t asked for anything.” She replied. “What I give I give willingly because I care about you. I'm never gonna stop doing that.”

“Sometimes I don’t think I deserve you.” Hotch kissed her temple.

“Well you do, and I deserve you too. We deserve all of this…well minus the handcuff thing.”

“I think the handcuff thing might be the most important thing of all. Perhaps Jack is a better magician than I thought.”

***

  



End file.
